Heart attacks are one of the main causes of death across the globe, making heart attack prevention essential for all of us. There are often changes we can make in our lifestyles to best protect ourselves against heart diseases.

There are simple steps you can take and small things that you can change to live a longer and healthier life. It’s not always easy but change rarely is.

Read on to learn more about changes you can make and natural remedies you can use.

What Can You Do to Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease?

Do you have a stressful life? Eat a lot of fried foods? Smoke? Drink alcohol?

All of these things increase your risk of heart disease and heart attack. However, you can make some changes to your lifestyle to prevent this – and preventing heart attack is much easier and at better odds than recovering from it.

So, here are some of the lifestyle changes you should consider if you’re looking to enhance your heart attack prevention:

Don’t smoke – If you are a smoker, your heart attack risk rises dramatically. Stop smoking and encourage people around you to stop as well. It is hard – but, so many people have done it successfully. They have chosen to get rid of this habit in favor of more quality time on this planet – which, in all honesty, is a small price to pay.

Eat well – Poor diet is another common cause of heart disease and heart attack. Unhealthy food can affect your cholesterol, blood pressure, and lead to unwanted weight gain. All of these things then affect the heart health. Instead of fried foods, sweets and other unhealthy food, choose fruit, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, fish, vegetable oils, nuts and so on. Spend enough time on various activities that will keep you fit and in control of your body weight.

Reduce your cholesterol – Fat stuck in your arteries is trouble waiting to happen. This is why you need to start eating less saturated and trans fats. Quality food and plenty of exercise will get your levels down. If not, take medication prescribed by your doctor.

Reduce your triglycerides – This is a common type of fat in the body. Normal levels will vary but you should eat healthier food to reduce your heart disease and attack risk.

Lower your blood pressure – One of the biggest risk factors to heart attack is high blood pressure. In order to lower it, you should avoid highly salted foods, exercise regularly, and take blood pressure medications, if your doctor says they’re necessary.

Be active – Exercise may seem like too much work, but the fact is that you don’t have to go to the gym or get sweaty and tired to match your body’s needs. For instance, you could take a longer walk every day, you could swim or do gardening. All of these things are fun but they lower your blood pressure, cholesterol and prevent heart disease.

Maintain a healthy weight – Obesity is one of the biggest enemies to a healthy heart. If you want to reduce your risks, aim for a healthy weight. Don’t do any fast fad diets or take pills. Reduce your weight by exercising, eating more fruit and vegetables and lean proteins. Remember; gaining weight happens gradually over time and so will losing it.

If you have diabetes, manage it with your doctor – People with diabetes should practice a healthy lifestyle. Poor diabetes management leads to more chances of heart attack and cardiovascular diseases.

Reduce your stress – People under stress tend to overeat, smoke more than other people and drink more. High levels of stress lead to high blood pressure as well. All of these can result in a heart disease or heart attack.

Limit your alcohol intake – Drinking too much can lead to high blood pressure, stroke, cancer and many other diseases. However, for drinkers, moderate drinking can actually protect the heart. So, if you are already consuming alcohol, you should reduce that amount to two drinks a day. If you are a non-drinker, you should still avoid it completely.

Never Ignore These Heart Attack Symptoms

Many people, especially when older, wonder what heart attack symptoms may be so that they can recognize them and look for help immediately. While maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help you prevent heart attack, it’s also very important for you not to think that you are completely free of risk. This is mostly because you should be aware of the symptoms if they come and respond appropriately. Knowing what to expect is key in heart attack prevention.

There are some well-known symptoms of a heart attack but there are several more subtle ones that may not seem that obvious. So, in order to stay on the safe side, you should learn some of the most common symptoms of a heart attack.

Chest pain – As we’ve all seen numerous times on movies and other television programs, chest pain is how it all starts. However, you should still learn more about this symptom. For one, it feels more like tightness and pressure in the chest. It can be both a symptom of an oncoming heart attack or a sign that you might get it in the future. Either way, you should visit your doctor immediately if you feel any chest pain. It might not be related to heart attack but it’s crucial that you take the time to take all of the tests and get a conclusion on what it is.

Leg pain – Pain in legs can be caused by many things, from muscle strains to arthritis. But if you have a problem that’s related to the heart, you will feel pain in either your calf or thigh. Your legs will get better with rest but you might experience coldness in your legs, wounds that are not healing well and so on. You should visit your doctor to get proper medication and advice.

Shortness of breath – This is another symptom that can be caused by numerous things like lung disease or sleep apnea but it can be heart attack as well. You should ask for medical examination to determine what the cause is. It’s a common symptom of a heart attack or heart failure.

Light headedness – If you feel dizzy, this could be a symptom of a heart attack. Again, it can be many other things but you should visit a doctor just in case, especially if you never get dizzy normally.

If you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms, please seek medical help. Some people are afraid of being seen as difficult or as over-reacting. Being concerned about heart attack prevention is a good thing and your doctor will not think you’re making a big deal out of nothing; early detection can save your life.

How Do You Survive a Heart Attack Alone?

People across the globe have heart diseases but no real knowledge on what to do in the case of a heart attack. Some people know what it is when it comes but they don’t seek help because they think that they will be seen as overreacting. Some people don’t feel pain at all and some feel only mild symptoms that may get overlooked. These people get a lot more heart damage because they don’t get quick medical attention. Women are often unaware of having a heart attack because they often don’t feel chest pain at all but rather nausea, cold sweat and fatigue.

Being educated on the symptoms is the first step that you need to take to get the most out of heart attack prevention. Then, you need to learn what to do in the case of a heart attack.

Call emergency medical providers.

Stay calm and still, don’t do anything to put yourself in more danger.

If you have aspirin, take one – crush it or chew it so that it can get in your system faster.

Don’t cool yourself with cold water or by any other means – cold constricts blood vessels.

Try to remain calm, alert, and safe until medical help arrives.

Can Drinking Water Help Prevent a Heart Attack?

Drinking normal amounts of water can keep you hydrated, healthy and fit. But, according to heart specialists, drinking water may even help with heart attack prevention. First of all, as a part of your healthy lifestyle, you should drink plenty of water every day. You can follow the eight 8 ounce glasses rule or you can have one of your own.

What’s most important is that you drink as often as you are thirsty. Just make sure that you do drink enough water. A good rule of thumb is to keep an eye on the color of your urine. A well-hydrated person will have pale to translucent yellow urine. Any darker than that and you should grab a couple more glasses of water. If it’s clear, you can cut back, as you’re getting way more than you need.

Keep in mind that if you are eating a lot of fruit and vegetables, you are getting plenty of water from that too.

There needs to be more scientific research on benefits of water for heart attack prevention but some experts say that if you drink a glass of water before sleep, you lower your risk of getting a heart attack during the night.

How Can You Prevent a Stroke Naturally?

While we plan most things in our life carefully, we often forget about one of the most important things – our brain health. Stroke can be a devastating issue for people and families. So, as you plan for other things in your life, throw in some stroke prevention measures. Here are some of them:

Lower your blood pressure.

Have a healthy diet of fruit, vegetables, lean meat and avoid junk food.